Jim DeMint’s coming out party as head of the Heritage Foundation is not going very well. The conservative think tank’s immigration report – which labels the cost of immigration reform at $6.3 trillion and was co-authored by a white supremacist – has caused a backlash against the group from prominent Republican lawmakers and party donors. [...]

11:28 pm: Full Text of Rubio’s Speech —- Full Text of Paul’s Speech 11:11 pm Marco Rubio goes on twitter to laugh off part of speech where he needed a water break [insert watergate joke here] 11:04 pm: Rand Paul concludes speech, takes softer tone on immigrants while condemning executive power for kill list and [...]

My understanding is that Republicans oppose the DREAM Act because they oppose a path to citizenship for any undocumented immigrant, regardless of their circumstances. They don’t really care if the individual came into the country as a child, brought by their parents, with no recollection of their former country. So I’m puzzled by this attempt [...]

I have a piece in Salon about an under-the-radar issue I’ve discussed here before. Here’s a long excerpt: The letter from Bank of America Home Loans got right to the point. “We are pleased to inform you that we have approved your Home Equity Account for participation in a principal forgiveness program offered as a [...]

We learned today that voters are incredibly supportive of the action that President Obama took to grant deferred action status and provide work permits on a temporary basis for DREAM-eligible students who came to America before the age of 16. As you look closely at the issue, and the Republicans’ inability to approach it – [...]

If observers thought that the Administration’s announcement on granting deferred action status and work permits for DREAM-eligible undocumented immigrants represented a high risk, the first reactions and impressions do not show it. In fact, it’s the mainstream Republicans who are scrambling for a response to this, somewhat mindful of the impact of demonization on the [...]

After a couple weeks of hope, there are more troubling signs about the future of negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. It appeared that the IAEA had struck a deal with Iran for future inspections of previously uninspected sites. Now, IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has announced new talks, as well as a revelation about satellite images [...]

Harry Reid, appearing on Univision, said that Marco Rubio doesn’t even have legislative language for his rumored version of the DREAM Act, and that he couldn’t possibly assess its chances without something to look at. “I’m glad that Marco is doing something. I think that’s significant,” Reid said. “But the problem is, right now there [...]

The series of anti-SOPA activism going on today has already claimed an early victory. Marco Rubio, the Florida Senator and Tea Party favorite, dropped his support after being a co-sponsor of the bill. Home to the Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks, Rubio’s Florida may be the most Hollywood-centric state outside California, and Rubio [...]

My response to this San Stein story about the fast-growing Hispanic demographic reality that will imperil the GOP is that it’s a story, but maybe not as big as this makes it out to be. On May 26, the Census released what an official at the bureau described as “the latest, most up to date [...]

The Latino vote increased sharply for Democrats, particularly in the West, helping to determine key Senate races in Colorado, Nevada and California. The Pew Hispanic Center reports that Democrats picked up the Latino vote by 64-34, and remember that includes Cubans in Florida voting for a Latino Republican for US Senate. Even in states like [...]